The present invention relates generally to implantable medical devices and in particular to implantable electrical pulse generators for treating supraventricular tachyarrhythmias.
Effective, efficient ventricular pumping action depends on proper cardiac function. Proper cardiac function, in turn, relies on the synchronized contractions of the myocardium at regular intervals. When the normal cardiac rhythm is initiated at the sinoatrial node, the heart is said to be in sinus rhythm. However, when the heart experiences irregularities in the coordinated contraction of the myocardium, due to electrophysiologic disturbances caused by a disease process or from an electrical disturbance, the heart is denoted to be arrhythmic. The resulting cardiac arrhythmia impairs cardiac efficiency and can be a potential life threatening event.
In the supraventricular region of the heart, electrophysiologic disturbances are called supraventricular tachyarrhythmias (SVT). SVT can take several distinguishable forms, including paroxysmal atrial tachycardia, atrial flutter, or atrial fibrillation. SVT are self-sustaining process and may be paroxysmal or chronic.
The mechanisms behind these conditions are not well understood, but, generally, the electrical impulses that normally cause sinus rhythm are thought to progress repeatedly around irregular conduction pathways within the heart. These conditions, if uncontrolled, can become life threatening if the aberrant electrical impulses enter the atrioventricular node (AV node) in a sporadic and/or at an accelerated rate and cause an irregular ventricular rate that degenerates into an immediate life threatening ventricular arrhythmia.
Physicians have typically relied on the use of either pharmacological agents and/or electrical techniques to control paroxysmal or chronic SVT. Many acute SVT patients convert to sinus rhythm after receiving treatment with pharmacological agents. However, antiarrhythmic pharmacological agents can have undesirable adverse effects, particularly if the need for drug therapy is chronic.
Alternatively, physicians have used various electrical techniques to treat SVTs. The SVT most frequently treated in this manner is atrial fibrillation. If the atrial fibrillation is acute, the physician may attempt an electrical cardioversion. This technique has been effective in converting atrial fibrillation, but it can be quite a painful experience for the patient. Implantable atrial cardioverters have also been suggested as a potential treatment for atrial fibrillation. However, the use of these devices can still subject the patient to a very painful and traumatic experience. Furthermore, the energy these devices deliver in attempting to treat atrial fibrillation has the potential for causing transient shock-induced dysfunction as well as permanent damage to the tissue near the cardioversion electrodes.
The present invention, in contrast, treats atrial fibrillation in a safe, effective, and more patient acceptable manner. The system of the present invention is unique in that it utilizes pacing level electrical energy impulses applied at a plurality of distinct locations within the supraventricular region of the heart to reduce the amount of electrical energy required to cardiovert or defibrillate the supraventricular region of the heart.
This lower energy method of treating a heart experiencing an atrial fibrillation reduces the potential for transient shock-induced dysfunction as well as permanent damage to the tissue near defibrillation coil electrodes. As a result, this method of treating a heart experiencing an atrial fibrillation is less painful and less traumatic to the patient as compared to the use of conventional implantable atrial cardioverters. Also, reducing the required energy could lead to further reductions in the size of the implanted device while extending battery life.
In one embodiment of the present invention, the system includes an implantable housing to which is releasably attached a first atrial catheter and a ventricular catheter. The first atrial catheter has a first atrial electrode and a first defibrillation electrode and is positioned within the heart with the atrial electrode and the first defibrillation electrode in a supraventricular region of the heart. The ventricular catheter has a first ventricular electrode, and is positioned within the heart with the first ventricular electrode in a right ventricular chamber of the heart.
The implantable housing also contains electronic control circuitry which is electrically connected to the first atrial electrode, the first defibrillation electrode, and the first ventricular electrode. The electronic control circuitry receives cardiac signals through the first atrial electrode and the first ventricular electrode, and delivers, upon detecting an atrial fibrillation, a plurality of pacing pulses to convert the atrial fibrillation to a non-fibrillation atrial arrhythmia such as atrial flutter.
In an additional embodiment, the first atrial catheter further includes at least a second atrial electrode and a second defibrillation electrode. The first atrial catheter is positioned within the supraventricular region of the heart with the first atrial electrode, the first defibrillation electrode and the second atrial electrode positioned within a coronary sinus vein of the heart, and the second defibrillation electrode within the right atrium chamber or major vein leading to the heart. In a further embodiment, the elongate body of the first atrial catheter has a series of lateral deflections that mechanically biases the first atrial electrode into physical contact with the coronary sinus vein of the heat.
The electronic control circuitry is electrically connected to the second atrial electrode and the second defibrillation electrode. The electronic control circuitry receives cardiac signals through the first and second atrial electrodes and the first ventricular electrode, and delivers, upon detecting an atrial fibrillation, a plurality of pacing pulses to convert the atrial fibrillation to a non-fibrillation atrial arrhythmia such as atrial flutter.
In an alternative embodiment, the system further includes at least a second atrial catheter, where the second atrial catheter has the second atrial electrode and the second defibrillation electrode, and is positioned within the heart with the second atrial electrode and the second defibrillation electrode in a supraventricular region of the heart. The electronic control circuitry is electrically connected to the second atrial electrode and the second defibrillation electrode. The electronic control circuitry receives cardiac signals through the first and second atrial electrodes and the first ventricular electrode, and delivers, upon detecting an atrial fibrillation, a plurality of pacing pulses to convert the atrial fibrillation to a non-fibrillation atrial arrhythmia such as atrial flutter.
Concurrent with the delivery of the plurality of pacing pulses, the system also senses and analyzes the ventricular rhythm to determine the stability of the ventricular intervals, where a ventricular interval is the time between the occurrence of sensed ventricular R-waves. In one embodiment, ventricular interval stability is determined from the variability of ventricular intervals sensed while the plurality of pacing pulses are being delivered. A stable ventricular interval has a variability value below a predetermined stability threshold value, and an unstable ventricular interval has a variability value that is greater than or equal to the predetermined stability threshold value.
During the delivery of the plurality of pacing pulses, if the system detects a period of stable ventricular intervals, it delivers a first level atrial shock to the heart. In one embodiment, the atrial shock is delivered between the first defibrillation coil and the implantable housing of the system, where the first defibrillation coil is located within the right atrium chamber of the heart or major vein leading to the right atrium chamber of the heart. In an alternative embodiment, the atrial shock is delivered between the first and second defibrillation coils, where the first defibrillation coil is located within the coronary sinus adjacent to the left atrium chamber of the heart and the second defibrillation coil is located within the right atrium chamber of the heart or a major vein leading to the right atrium chamber.
In an additional embodiment, if the plurality of pacing pulses does not convert the atrial fibrillation, the system repeats the steps of delivering a plurality of pacing pulses to the atria. As the system is repeating delivery of the plurality of pacing pulses it also concurrently senses and analyzes the stability of the ventricular intervals. Upon detecting stable ventricular intervals during the repeated plurality of pacing pulses, the system then proceeds to deliver the first level atrial shock to the heart to restore sinus rhythm. As a result, this method of terminating atrial fibrillation by first converting it to atrial flutter or some non-fibrillation atrial arrhythmia using pacing pulses then delivering a low-energy first level atrial shock to restore sinus rhythm provides for a less painful and a less traumatic experience for the patient.